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Showing posts from January, 2017

A visitor

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My friend Ben (he’s been featured previously here , when he met me for a quick South roadtrip) lives in Sydney and we have been trying to arrange a Sydney meet up for a while now.  Each date we’ve suggested hasn’t worked out, to the point that it’s become predictable! So imagine my surprise when last week he says ‘sorry, my parents are out then so I have to entertain them. But how about I come to Auckland this weekend?’.  This weekend being 4 days away! I had no other plans so said yes and started planning what we could do for 3 days. Ben’s the kind of person who’s really good to have as a friend – not only is he very easy going and hilarious, he is up for anything!  So I texted him a variety of activities we could do on the weekend, and he said yes to them all – woohoo! So first off, we got up and headed to Tawharanui to hire some surfboards and shred some waves. That makes me sound so cool – if only you could see me try and surf and you’d realise very soon I’m not very cool at all. 

Forget blood brothers, I got sweat sisters! Cape Brett Track, Jan 2016

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I was at a bit of a loss as to what to fill my 3 weeks off with.  I was looking for overnight tramps and had found one that looked really interesting up in Russell, but having spoken to a few friends who'd done it, it sounded pretty hard and I wasn't sure I wanted to do it alone.  Never fear though, there's always someone in New Zealand who wants to join for adventure times! I'd made friends with 2 girls at the Waywiser meet up I had gone on a few weeks back and they both wanted to come.  Even better, Nairi invited her sister along for the ride too so we ended up being a cool foursome. My new gear....I didn't mean for the colours to match, it just happened that way! Nairi, Nathalie and I drove up to Rawhiti, making a pitstop in Whangarei for frozen yoghurt and fuel, before setting up camp in a gorgeous camp site right on the water. In the morning we woke early to pack down the tents, have breakfast and do last minute packing.  Our packs were super he

2016. The year I finally got to sing No Diggity at Karaoke

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2016.  Never have I had a year where I've been so exquisitely happy most of the time.   This year has been the year of mostly yes's.  Experiencing new things. Throwing myself into the deep end.  Paragliding. Body boarding. Temping. Outdoor antics. Indoor netball.  Rock climbing.  Scaring myself.  Hiking.  Stand up paddle boarding.  Hitchhiking.  Stream walking.  Cave exploring.  Skiing. Surfing.  Pushing myself to limits.  And realising my limits can go further.  Sledging.  Cleaning toilets.  Getting covered in cow shit.  Being covered in sandfly bites.  Wrangling calves.  Being independent.  And not so independent.   Getting worked up over boys.  Then the next one comes along and I forget about the previous one.  Fitness.  Liking dogs.  Realising I actually quite like people too. Picking my battles.  Being a mediator for other people's.  Experiencing ridiculous hospitality and kindness.  Being speechless at the surrounding beauty.  Seeing incredible shooting stars. Phot